Wallpaper roll



Aug. 28, 1945. w w. H. YATES ET,AL

WALLPAPER ROLL Filed April 2, 1943 Patented Aug. 28,1945

ton, Evanston, 111., assignors to Trim: Company Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application April 2, 1943'. Serial No. 481,573

1 Claim. This invention relates/fto new and improved wall paper rolls which, flue to their novel andimproved construction, lend themselves for use in a new and improved process for applying the same to walls and similar surfaces.

The wall paper rolls of this invention are characterized as being pre-pasted, whereby the same may be applied to wall surfaces without the necessity of applying pasteor other adhesive thereto, but by merely applving water or 4 other moistening liquid to the paste which is already present on theunprinted surface thereof.

3 .It is an object of this invention to provide, as

' an article of manufacture, a new and improved wall paper roll which lends itself to being readily applied to the walls of rooms and the like .by the housewife or other unskilled person with- The roll of this invention may be further characterized as having the end of the paper strip which is to be located at the top of the wall, rolled first sothat it will come at the core of the roll. This is not necessary however. The significant'featureswill be apparent from the explanation hereinafter contained of' the technique of applying thepaper of this roll to a wall surface so that the decorative pattern on the surface of the paper will not be upside down, nor will it be necessary for the operator to apply the paper from the bottom of the wall upwardly out requiring the services of a professional or skilled wall paper hanger.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and different wall paper roll which is so constructed and arranged that it offers unusual advantages when the same is handled in a submerged condition, as when moistening the same,

toward the top in order to make the'pattern come right-side up.

In addition, the roll must be of sufficient width, that' is from edge to edge, to provide water-holding space between the convolutions of the roll when the same is rerolled underwater, to assure that the adhesive material is moistened .at the outset to an extent sufiicient to cause it to possess the proper degree of adhesiveness at the and subsequently during the procedure of applying the same to a wall surface.

A further object isto provide a new and im proved wall paper roll of the type referred to, which can be made with the use of conventional machinery and at a low cost and yet'is highly I practical. and serviceable in use.

These and other objects not specifically enumerated are contemplated for. this invention, as will readily appear to one skilled in the art as the following description proceeds.

The description hereinafter given is to be read time it is later applied to the wall. The significance of these new and improved structural characteristics will now be pointed out.

The roll of wall paper of this invention is especially adapted for use. in conjunction with a new and improved technique which constitutes the subject of applicants application Serial No. 481,574, filed April '2, 1943, for Process of hanging Dre-pasted wall paper, patented May 2, 1944, Number 2,347,865. The technique Y referred .to comprises, first, cutting prescribed in connection with the accompanying drawing,

in which- Figure 1 is an illustration of a roll ofwall paper constructed in accordance with this invention; and

Figure 2 is a figure similar to Figure 1, including, however, an enlarged lateral view of a portion of the rolL By referring to the drawing, it will be noted that the roll of wall paper II! comprises an elon-- gated paper strip II which is rolled with the outer decorative or finishing surface It thereof on the exterior of the roll instead of on the in-. terior thereof as is the usual practice. Fur-' thermore, it will be noted that the inner surface of the roll is provided with a suitable adhesive or paste l2 applied theretowhich is of such character that the same may be caused to adhere by lengths of the paper from the roll and, thereafter, rerolling each length so cut that the end of the cut piece which is to be applied at the top of the wall is rolled in first, or, in other words, at, the core of the roll. supplied with the top of the design located at the core, it will be necessary only to, re-roll the paper in the same manner that it was originally rolled when supplied. In any event, before moistening the top end of each cut piece must be at the core of the roll. In addition, the rerolling is. carried out so that the outside or decorative surface is rolled on the outside of the roll and the paste surface on the inside'thereof. With the individual rolls of cut strips thus formed, each in turn is then submerged in a bath, such as cool water containedin a wash suitable moistening, such as by applying an adequate amount of water thereto. In addition, the decorative surface is water resistant due to the use of suitable sizing, such as proteins, or'by the use of a protective coating ofwater resistant material, such as varnish.

basin, wash tub or bath tub, and the same rerolledduring the moistening treatment, that is to say, the outer edge of the roll originally submerged forms the core of the new roll,- and the paper is then continuously unrolled from the original roll and rerolled on the newly formed roll until the edge that was innermost is exposed as an outer edge. It will be noted that during this rolling operation the operator's hands engage only the outside or decorative part of the paper which is water resistant, and thus the operator avoids contact'with the adhesive or paste side of If the roll is originally the core.

the paper. ii owever, due to the unrolling and rerolling of the paper under water, the entire that an adequate amount of water is retained L therein to assure that the adhesive or paste remains moist throughout the period of time required for the various operations involved in bringing the paper into proper pasted position on the wall surface.

Inasmuch as the rolling operation, after cutting and prior to moistening, causes the top of the strip to be located at the core of the roll, when the same is rerolled undrr water the top edge becomes the outer edge. it thus occurs that the top edge is outermost and is readily available for application to the upper edge of the wall surface adjacent the ceiling, picture molding, or other means which defines the upper edge of the wall to be papered.

With the upper edge applied in the proper position, it is only necessary to permit the paper to fall or unroll downwardly under the action of gravity, and by suitable means, such as by the action of a dry or wet sponge, brush or the like,-

to apply the same to the surface of the wall while working the paper from the top downwardly.

An important aspect of this operation is that the roll, when formed in the manner here described, acts as a spacer between the wall and the new supply of moistened paper coming'off of the roll, so that accidental or unwantedcontact and adhesion, as when the paper is in an improper position or wrinkled condition, cannot occur, but rather the roll, under the action of gravity and the spacing action of the roll itself, is easily controlled by the operator by applying strokes to'the paper as will cause the paper to readily and smoothly engage the wall surface without unwanted or accidental adhesion.

This construction of the roll also permits the operator to support the roll in one hand and in [this manner to exercise complete control over it. Merely by lowering the hand supporting the roll, the roll will follow downwardly under the action of gravity while the additional paper automatically rolls therefrom and falls in proper position to be pasted to the wall surface.

It is to be understood that the paper may if desired have one longitudinal edge thereof provided with a selvage IS, in which event the rerolling of the paper preparatory to moistening can be effected through the use of the selvage as a guide. For instance, the rolling can be done with the selvage to the right or left as the case may be, so as to cause the top end to be rolled inwardly at Thus, when the roll is rerolled under water, the top end comes outside. Where a selvage is used, it will be understood that the next adjacent strip of paper will be pplied so as to overlap and hide the selvage of the previously applied strip.

If the paper is not suificiently wide, it has been found that an inadequate amount of moisture will be retained between the convolutions of the sufilcient width to take up an amount of moisture which will assure that the adhesive is maintained operations,

moist for the prescribed period, so that there is no darmer of the same becoming dry before the applying operation is completed. In practice, it has been found that widths of twelve to fifteen inches and upwardly are sufficient to hold the amount of moisture required for the above-described process.

In addition, the adhesive or paste is applied to the inside of the roll, whereby the pre-pasted surface is removed from all necessity or liability of touching the same with the hands during the handling operation incident to moistening and applying the same to the wall. Furthermore, by having the paste on the inside surface it is found that the natural camber or bias of the paper with the paste on the concave side, which is created by the dried paste, aids in forming the roll and giving to the paper the resilient bias in the direction of the curve of the roll which enters so satisfactorily into the paper-applying operation.

If desired, the paper of this invention may have markings 11 extending along the length thereof, such as on a selvage edge or on the back, which would indicate unit lengths thereof, such, as, for instance, marks placed one foot apart or a yard apart. Such markings would assist the operator in cutting off pieces of the same length without resorting to complicated measuring or matching The markings could be subdivided into fractions of a foot, as may prove to be desirable in any particular case, and the marks can be numbered consecutively, starting from either the inside or outside of the roll. If the numbers start at the center of the roll, the numbers would not only be usable in determining the lengths of each strip, but would also indicate the unused length of any particular roll or part'of a roll.

In. addition, markings can be provided on the selvage of the paper to indicate which end of the paper should be disposed upwardly when the paper is on the wall. This indication can be supplied by placing arrows on the margin, coupled with a legend stating This end up or some similar legend or marking. This type of indication will be particularly useful in instances where the pattern of the paper is such that the upright position may not be readily detected by mere into its surface on one side thereof and a coating of dry retacking adhesive on the other sidethereof and a water resistant substance applied over said decorative material, said strip of paper being rolled with the adhesive surface as the inner or concave surface of the roll and with the adhesive surface of one convolution in direct contact with the decorative surface of the next adjacent convolution, the paper comprising said roll being of 

